There is such a lot to explain, where to start? Best for you to start by reading as much as you can on this forum, starting with the Newbie 101 thread at the beginning of the Coping section.

A brief synopsis. You have been making autoimmune antibodies to gluten due to an inherited gene predisposition, which have destroyed the lining of your small intestine, allowing foods in a partially digested form to get into your bloodstream and making you very sick. You blood test score measures the number of antibodies, and the fact that your doctor could visually see the damage rather than having to rely on the microscope looking at the biopsies means that the damage is quite severe and will quite possibly take some time to heal.

It would be helpful to know what the treatment was. Was it maybe for H. pylori, for the ulcers? These are very important to treat. He obviously also tested you for nutritional deficiencies if you have to take lots of vitamins. This is because the destruction of the lining of your small intestine causes you not to be able to absorb nutrients from your food and you therefore become deficient in these essential nutrients -- essential because they are required for the proper functioning of the body. This is especially true in bonebuilding. You are obviously deficient in Vitamin d (common in celiacs) which is a necessary nutrient for building new bone. Without it your bones become weak and fragile. The good news is that you should be able to build new bone with the proper nutrition.

The blood you were vomiting could have been coming from the ulcers if they were severe. The passing of blood from the rectum could be from an anal fissure which is not uncommon. Yes, passing of blood (from either end) needs to be watched closely. Were you given a colonoscopy in addition to the endoscopy? This would rule out any other bowel condition.

This is just a capsule answer to your question. If you have more specific questions, do ask, but do do some reading on here where you will find answers to lots of questions you may have. It is an invaluable resource.

Again, welcome, and I do hope you are soon feeling much better.

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Neroli

"Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted." - Albert Einstein

"Life is not weathering the storm; it is learning to dance in the rain"

"Whatever the question, the answer is always chocolate." Nigella Lawson

The good in all that is that your doctor has tested you and is treating you. Your diet will be the main issue. Then your support in the way of nutrients, supplements, vitamins and medications.

I was never tested for gluten/celiac. I was found to have gallstones, ulcers, migraines and IBS. Oh, almost forgot reflux. As soon as the xrays were read and reports written, I was given many prescriptions and a xerox copy of some diet to follow. With the bill ; /

Truly, I feel my main culprit was possibly a system wide yeast infection, but no doctor would consider this. So I changed my own diet. All organic. Now gluten free and no genetically modified.

I will not touch any grain. Sugar. Or those items that contain them. No alcohol at this time, too. Gave up cigarettes. Switched to green teas. It was a major life change.

I have been symptom free since 2007.

My hope is that you give yourself time to heal.

Don't let your guard down. It is not easy, but you are not alone. Take care.

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"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them -- every day begin the task anew."

Thanks for the responses. There was no sign of H. pylori, but there were clusters of ulsers in the duodenal. He says that do to the number of clusters of ulsers there are probably more further down the intestine. I think what happened with the blood coming out of the back end was due to taking ondansetron to stop the vomiting because it was out of control ( I vomited so hard before going on the ondansetron that I got a black eye. The looks I got from people were pretty funny ). He said there were no anal fissures, That was my guess as well as the thought that if the blood could not come out of my mouth it had to go else where, but I'm guessing.

I truly appreciate the responses, thank you both. I'm going to go read the Newbie 101 now and look into more about what you posted.

Sounds like you are having a bit of rough go of it. I used to have some bleeding from the rear but not as severe as what yours sounds to be. Have you checked all the side effects for the medications you are taking? Some medications can have pretty severe side effects. I like the "askapatient" web site for checking other peoples reactions to meds.

I was going to suggest DGL licorice and mastic gum for h.pylori but maybe that's not the problem. H.pylori is very common tho and can move in on a damaged digestive system easily. acid blockers are a problem in that regard as they make it easier for H. pylori to get established.

Thanks for the info and links. I have done and am doing all of the suggestions except for the dairy, sugar and starchy foods I didn't know that they were no no's thanks. They are now "off" my eat list!

I have a couple of questions:

1. Which probiotics do you think are best?

2. Edible digestive enzymes, never heard of them. Again which do you suggest?

3. I had no idea there were such things as gluten-free vitamins. I looked at the label on my vitamins. I didn't see anything indicating Gluten ( wheat barley etc ). What should I look for? Is it a simple as a "Gluten Free" label?

Wow, the things you learn when something like this happens.

I love cooking. I'm no gourmet but I try to make things taste good ( the kids aren't crazy about vegetables so I have to give them a little help, the vegetables that is. A short steaming then some butter and salt and pepper ).

“If idiots could fly, the sky would be like an airport.”― Laura Davenport

"Do or do not. There is no try. "- Yoda.

"LTES" Gem 2014

Misdiagnosed for 25+ years; Finally Diagnosed with Celiac 11/01/10. Double DQ2 genes. This thing tried to kill me. I view Celiac as a fire breathing dragon --and I have run my sword right through his throat.I. Win.

IH gave some good recommendations there. I think any of those brands would have a worthwhile digestive enzyme also. Bluebonnet is one other brand I like. I use their Betaine HCL with pepsin myself. The sugar and starchy foods are often a problem for people at first because the feed bacteria in the gut and can cause a lot of gas and bloating. Which can be painful in a damaged gut. Dairy is often a problem because celiac destroys the villi lining of the gut. The enzyme that digests dairy sugar (lactase) is made by those villi. So no lactase results in lactose intolerance and lots of gas, D etc again. Sometimes the lactose intolerance resolves after a while on the gluten-free diet tho. Often enough it seems like people report worsening digestive symptoms shortly after going gluten-free. When you cut out gluten, you are changing the diet of your gut bacteria also. So there can be some adjustment there, which can cause some symptoms. Plus as the gut heals there is more surface area for bacteria to cling to and multiply on. That's all good in the long run, we need those bacteria to help with digesting our foods. But in the short run there can be some bad strains that get out of control and very happy with the diet change. Keeping their sugar / starch food supply low can reduce the GI symptoms.

The big gotchas are generally processed foods. Gluten is put in many processed foods besides bread and cereal. So it is good to avoid most of them if you can for a while. After you are used to the gluten-free diet and have learned to eat safely, then is a good time to start some food experiments. The safe way to do that is to add one new/experimental food per week, and never more than one in a day. Otherwise it gets confusing quickly on what foods caused symptoms.

You can search this forum for foods and often find threads with peoples opinions of them.

“If idiots could fly, the sky would be like an airport.”― Laura Davenport

"Do or do not. There is no try. "- Yoda.

"LTES" Gem 2014

Misdiagnosed for 25+ years; Finally Diagnosed with Celiac 11/01/10. Double DQ2 genes. This thing tried to kill me. I view Celiac as a fire breathing dragon --and I have run my sword right through his throat.I. Win.